Pre-monsoon showers in Saurashtra, South Gujarat bring respite for farmers

Pre-monsoon showers in areas like Amreli, Rajkot and Junagadh district of Saurashtra region and Surat and surrounding areas in South Gujarat on Tuesday evening have brought much needed respite for farmers, who were beginning kharif sowing.

However, Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has not declared it as official foray of monsoon in the state and a decision is likely to be taken on Wednesday regarding the same.

While Gondal, Jetpur and Virpur taluka of Rajkot district received about 30 millimeters (mm) of rain on Tuesday evening, several parts of Amreli district received nearly 65-70 mm of rain.

The pre-monsoon showers were accompanied by heavy rainstorm in South Gujarat regions of Surat and its surrounding towns. Kamrej taluka of Surat district recorded 69 mm of rainfall whereas Utchal and Nizar in Tapi district recorded 40 mm and 29 mm, respectively. Navasari and Dang district also recorded 30 mm showering.

According to IMD, monsoon is expected to progress towards Gujarat in the next 48 hours and into parts of Madhya Pradesh, East Uttar Pradesh and parts of Bihar.

The delayed monsoon has slowed down the initial kharif sowing in Gujarat, which is down by about 80% on a y-o-y basis. According to state agriculture department data, as on June 20, overall sowing has reached 2,74,300 hectares as against 1.34 million hectares in corresponding period of 2015.

"Beginning of kharif sowing is lower as monsoons have been delayed in the state. Farmers are waiting for the first showers. Sowing activity will gear up across the state once the rains set in," said a official of Gujarat agriculture department.